December 31, 2004

I can see clearly now. Maybe this will solve everything.A new lens prescription for my glasses was installed this afternoon. The difference is dramatic, and walking through the mall afterwards was a sensory overload. There were edges and corners everywhere. I thought my eyes were OK before; now they’re practically bionic.I’m constructing this blog in order to chronicle my year. I’ve never made a New Year’s resolution, but events are unfolding – and will unfold – that make this blog a good asset to have. If all bodes well, two amazing things will happen in 2005: I will become a first-time homeowner, and I will turn 30.I’ve worked as a graphic designer for Ducks Unlimited Canada for six years, my first and only job since graduation from college in 1998. I enjoy an incredible sense of security, consistency and in terms of workload, a stress-free environment. But it’s corporate work, and with that comes monotony, unoriginality and a lack of challenges. I could yo-yo all day between the benefits and pitfalls: Good news! I have full health benefits. Bad news! I’m often uninspired. Good news! I get to leave the city every day and work in a bird sanctuary. Bad news! I’m detached and isolated from my industry.My resolutions therefore, besides promising to reach the age of 30, are professional. And – deep breath – here they are:1) Cop some skillz.2) Re-familiarize myself with the graphic design community.3) Draw.And this is how I’m gonna do it:1) Take classes. Read books. Unfortunately, I graduated at a time when the faculty was still considering adding a web-based and multimedia element to their curriculum, and I missed out on the action by taking a job that doesn’t need these skills anyway. But if there are any potential employers out there, I cut a mean sheet of amberlith and possess other valuable manual production techniques, like drawing a perfect circle with a protractor and a Koh-I-Noor® Rapidograph®. So I’m gonna try and learn stuff like Dreamweaver, bone up on other programs, and improve my overall abilities through the amazing power of books.2) See what’s going on. Visit the city more often. Sit in on some seminars. Read more books. Talk to old friends. Make new ones. I could go on, but this resolution is actually pretty easy. I just need to turn these instructions into regular habits. 3) Draw more. In college, we were instructed to draw all the time. But I’ve been lazy. I can’t say I’ve sketched a thing in months. So it’s pretty simple order: Create something new once a week that I can be proud of, then post it here.